Elder Law Attorney Roseville Near Me

4worldlovers:
In broad terms, a will is a legal document that states how you want your financial assets and property to be handled after your death. You name an executor, who oversees distributing your property, and beneficiaries, who will receive your property. You can also name permanent guardians for your minor children. Generally, wills that transfer ownership of the testator’s real and personal property to living beneficiaries go through probate.


A revocable living trust is a legal entity you create during your lifetime. Any property you choose to place into the trust will be distributed according to its terms after your death. Just like a will, you name someone to manage distributions (the trustee) and the people who will receive your property (beneficiaries).


Unlike a will, however, a revocable living trust does not have to go through the probate court to be executed. In California, the probate court process can take 12-16 months to complete, costs approximately 5% of the value of the estate in court fees, and is completely public. Creating a revocable living trust saves your loved one’s time, and money, and maintains your privacy.


A Pour-Over Will, to catch any assets accidentally left out of the Trust,


A Financial Power of Attorney, designating someone to act on your behalf for financial matters when you are ill or otherwise incapacitated,


An Advanced Health Care Directive, naming the person who could make medical decisions on your behalf if you were unable to communicate,


A HIPAA Waiver, granting access to confidential medical information to your chosen representatives


The first important way to protect minor children is by naming potential permanent guardians to care for them if you are no longer able.


A revocable living trust can also be crafted to ensure that a minor child’s inheritance will be both supervised and protected from future creditors, court judgments, and divorce proceedings.


In California, a family’s home is often its largest investment. If you own a home with a fair market value of more than $61,500 (meaning what the home would sell for, regardless of debt), your family will need to go to court to inherit the house, unless you plan ahead.


The court process, called probate, in CA costs on average 5% of the total value of the estate, is totally public, and delays distribution to your heirs for 12-16 months, minimum.


If you have minor children at home, planning is a must. If you could no longer care for your children and had no estate planning in place, the court would decide who should raise them and appoint a fiduciary to manage their inheritance, for a fee. Then, when they turn 18, the remaining inheritance would be distributed to them outright, without any guidance or supervision. Your Estate Plan will be crafted to avoid this outcome, giving you the most possible influence on your children’s futures.

4worldlovers: At CunninghamLegal, we guide savvy, caring families in the protection and transfer of multi-generational wealth.

Our team of California Trust, Tax Planning, and Real Estate attorneys take a highly personal approach to our work. We devote time and effort to fully understanding your assets, your personal goals, and the concerns you have for passing assets on to your loved ones; then we design a customized plan just for you. In our extensive practice we also provide trust administration, probate representation, tax planning, real estate matters, asset protection strategies, and much more.